It was my first day at Arrowhead High School, but more importantly, it was my first day venturing out of my comfort zone. Now picture this: A shy eighth grader from St. Charles in khakis shorts and a red polo walks down the hallway, books overfilling his backpack and a hunched back from the weight. I was a nervous nerd with a knack for math. But Mrs. Obermann taught me to see this as a positive. 

The first time I walked into her class, I was accompanied by a friendly “Hello” and an eagerness to teach math, yes I know...MATH! She radiated happiness and a desire to make sure everyone fit in. That caught me off guard, but in an optimistic, “didn’t expect a high school teacher to be like that” way. For all those nerds in there, myself included, we felt at peace to share and speak out on math topics that the average high school student would glare at you for.

In my two years with Mrs. O, I had grown in math and learned important skills such as problem solving and thinking outside the box. She instilled these skills into me with her teaching tactics and clever puns. 

To start off every day of class, Mrs. Obermann would display an ingenious play on words (a pun) that would make the students laugh and engage in that day’s lesson. So by the time notes started, everybody was in a good mood and prepared to learn polynomials and end behavior.

With her games and joyous teaching styles, Mrs. O was and is probably one of the nicest people I know. She cares more about you as a person and not just what your pencil can do on exam day.

She knows that I am stressed when it comes to quizzes and tests, so she would always make it a priority to help me calm down. She’d say, “Nick. You’ve got to stop worrying about all these quizzes and tests. A bad grade here and there won’t affect you, so stop worrying about it. I know you’ll be just fine in life.” While I am still a stressed out person to this day, it was comforting to have someone help me look at the bright side of every situation.

Because of her, I want to pursue a career in a math related topic, so I appreciated (still do appreciate) her for being so helpful to me in those two years that I had with her. So to end this, all that can be said is thank you Mrs. Obermann.